CSI: Sunnydale
by Rin
Behind Blue Eyes
[reviews]
A/N: More updatey goodness!
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Darla looked over all of her implements and torture devices. Deciding which one to use first was going to be her toughest decision. Her plans to scare the two first was working brilliantly, as she'd drained the detective to almost the point of extinction. She needed her alive, though, to warn the others that there was a Big Bad in town and that it wasn't just killing, it was playing with its victims.
Kate was in the hospital now, while the redhead was stuck in her office and the blonde CSI was left to fend for herself.
A few more dead bodies to seal the scare should do nicely...
Looking over at her minions, she was glad that her plans were finally coming to fruition. After this bit of fun, she was going to make it her top priority to find Angelus. He would've loved this.
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Buffy was worried about her girlfriend; she hadn't left her office or taken time off to rest since Kate had been found. Normally, she would be jealous that the redhead was so focused on another woman but her rationality won.
"Wills...?" Buffy walked into her supervisor's office, knocking lightly so not to scare her girlfriend. "How about a break? Some sustenance and sleep?"
"Whatever did this is still out there." Willow rarely showed emotion during a case but the bodies kept showing up and they all fit the same profile: young and blonde and law enforcement. Scared that her girlfriend might be the next victim caused the redhead to panic and go on overdrive with the research. So far, she had only narrowed it down to vampiric, based on the parallel bite marks on each victim thus far. They'd never actually had to go up against anything supernatural since they found out about the demon world's existence.
"I know, ba...Willow. Just...you still need to rest." Buffy leaned against the redhead's desk and crossed her arms. "And don't try pulling your resolve face because I have one of my own, and I'm intent on getting you to bed."
"Woah there, Princess. What did I walk in on?" Doyle smirked, hearing the last bit of conversation.
"Oh...that is...to her own bed...because she hasn't slept...and..." Buffy panicked; she had let her guard down at work and it might prove fatal.
"Calm down now." Doyle just walked further into the office, placing a file on his supervisor's desk. "That case you wanted."
"Thanks, Doyle." Willow rubbed the frustration from her face. "Any word from the demon underground?"
"Not of yet. I'll keep digging, though. Someone's bound to know something." Doyle had stopped teasing his two coworkers about their 'non-relationship' but the temptation was strong again. "What's this I hear about you getting Rosenberg into bed, Summers?"
"Merciful Zeus." Xander walked in, hearing that last bit of conversation, dropping his own file on the ground.
"Xand! It's not...she was just..." Willow looked over to see that her girlfriend was panicking, too, albeit quietly.
"I was just teasin' them, Harris. Buffy here was trying to get Rosenberg to go home and get some sleep." Doyle rescued them, seeing the panic on their faces clearly. Truth was, he was enjoying a little more than he should.
"Oh, right. I knew that." Xander walked in and laid the file down on his friend's desk. "Another closed case, Wills."
"Thanks, Xander." Willow rubbed her puffy eyes again. "Maybe a little sleep wouldn't hurt."
"And a shower wouldn't hurt, either. You're starting to get a little gamey." Doyle smirked.
"I'll just take a shower in the locker room and crash on the couch here in my office for a few hours. I don't know that I could make it home at this point." Willow leaned back in her chair and just now realized how tense her muscles were from sitting too long.
"Summers here can take you home, can't you, Summers?" Doyle smirked again; it was just too fun to tease these two.
"Did I miss something?" Kate walked in, her neck still bandaged, and her face and skin still pale.
"Kate, what are you doing up?! You should be at home resting!" Willow stood and stretched her muscles quickly. Kate just walked into the office further.
"I can't stop thinking about...I mean, I don't understand how she did it."
"How who did what?" Buffy turned her attention to the detective, as did everyone else in the room.
"My new...well, I guess she was my girlfriend." Kate scrunched her eyebrows in thought. "I knew she liked to bite during sex but...I still don't get how she...it doesn't add up."
"You were dating someone?" Willow's hurt tone baffled Buffy, who didn't want to risk looking at her girlfriend's expression for fear of giving away her own jealousy.
"Well, I mean it was new...but...yeah." Kate stayed where she was standing, while the others gathered around her. The woman looked like she might pass out, which given recent events wouldn't surprise them.
"What was her name? Do you think she might be linked to the other women?" Willow stood directly in front of Kate, tempted to comfort her for some reason. Finding out your new lover was a possible psychopath? Not exactly hugs and puppies.
"Darla...and other women?" This was the first Kate had heard about it, which was obvious from her tone and expression.
"Darla...did she have a last name?" Willow was already moving to her computer to research the new information.
"She never said," Kate whispered. Gone was the strong detective persona, replaced by a scared and helpless girl.
"That's okay. I don't think Darla is a common name." Buffy brushed her arm down Kate's to offer some comfort. "Anything else you can tell us?"
"Yeah, like what she looked like, for starters." Xander stood on the other side of Kate but his manly demeanor wouldn't allow him to offer physical comfort.
"Blonde, gorgeous, taller than me. I really..." Kate closed her eyes and audibly swallowed. "I should go down to have her profile sketched; it might help."
"That'd be great." Willow looked up from her search engine. "Doyle, Xander, you two go with her. I don't want her to be alone right now."
"I can take care of myself." Kate was defensive, and tired of feeling defenseless.
"I know that...but...just humor me, okay?" Willow sent a sympathetic look towards her ex-girlfriend, and stayed quiet as Doyle escorted the detective from his office, Xander flanking them.
Once they were gone, Buffy went about turning down the blinds in her girlfriend's office.
"What are you doing?" Willow looked on questioning.
"You can't very well get rest with the harsh lighting in this place." She pulled the last blind, glad that minimal light was shining through from the hallway and the parking lot.
"I can't sleep now!" Willow protested but Buffy just gave her a worried smile.
"Kate won't be done with profiling for a while, and Doyle was right...you need a shower."
"A shower, sure...but I can't sleep when new information..." Willow was stopped by the gentle kiss that Buffy risked placing on her lips. "Buffy, you can't..."
"I did. Now...go take your shower and I'll fetch a pillow from the breakroom." Buffy grabbed her girlfriend's hands and pulled her from the chair. "We'll need you at 100% on this, Wills...and right now, you're barely at 20. Get some rest, okay? I'll come wake you when we have more information."
Willow wanted to protest again but the blonde's resolve was set. Plus, it was true; she was no good to her team if she was only functioning at low levels. If she was going to keep Buffy safe from whatever this was, she had to be at full capacity.
"Promise me you won't leave the lab tonight? I don't want to risk your capture because you were out on assignment." Willow got her wanted agreement nod before she took off to wipe her four-day stink away.
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Buffy really did stick to her girlfriend/supervisor's wishes. At least until the cases started to become so quantitative that they had to call in reserves from day shift. She felt she had no real choice, so she opted to stick with Doyle, believing he would let his demon protect her if they came across the vampire.
Doyle knew that their boss didn't want Buffy on the field but he also knew the blonde was determined to help, so he only chose those crime scenes that were the furthest from a major threat. Truth was, he was worried, too, since his coworker fit the profile perfectly.
"Crimes up tonight. I wonder what gives." Buffy finished putting away the bullets she extracted from the convenience store wall. "This is like...what? The fourth hold up we've been to; must be something in the air."
"Something like that." Doyle placed his hand on his partner's arm. "Look, Buffy..."
"I know...but Willow's out cold right now, and...I can't just sit there and let her worry about me becoming a victim. She's not thinking as clearly about the case as she should be because she's worried."
"I've never seen her worry this much. Sure, she gets involved in her cases but never on an emotional level." Doyle figured that even those these two couldn't act on their feelings didn't mean the feelings still weren't there. "Tends to happen when someone close could be a victim. Rosenberg's a good boss, though. She'll do what needs to be done. Don't you worry your pretty little head."
"How can I not? You saw her." Buffy wasn't surprised that the redhead had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. "If something were to happen, if I were to get hurt, what then?"
"Don't worry, princess. We'll do what we can to keep you safe." Doyle noticed a tingling sensation crawl up his spine, warning him that something was close. Something primal. Instead of alerting his colleague, he just ushered her to the car, wanting to get back to the crime lab. "That's enough for tonight. Let's go see how the boss lady is doing before the sun's up."
Neither noticed the brunette watching them.
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"...what I find is the person is charge sleeping on duty." The weasely voice heard from the redhead's office had to be Snyder.
"Snyder...must've gotten called in. Be glad you're night shift." Doyle decided that now wasn't the best time to knock on the boss's door, so he led the way to the lockers.
"About that..." Buffy wasn't sure what to do about requesting a new job but she did know that she didn't want day shift. She wanted to keep the same hours. "I've been thinking a lot lately..."
"Could be a dangerous thing." Doyle opened his locker and started removing his vest.
"Sometimes..." Buffy just smirked at her friend. "See, thing is...I'm thinking of requesting a transfer."
"Ah...the sexual tension getting too strong to handle? Still, I'm sure Rosenberg would gladly give you a glowing recommendation for whatever you decide to do." Doyle didn't want to see his friend go but he knew it couldn't be easy for the girl. Plus, this way, maybe they would finally act on their feelings.
"It's just...I love my job here, and the hours are perfect. If this were L.A., I could just request a transfer to a different branch but here, there's only one branch."
"There's always the next town over, though I warn you it's more claustrophobic than Sunnydale. More desert, less population. Not good for the socials." Doyle finished closing down before shutting his locker and moving to straddle to bench to give the blonde his undivided attention. "I definitely don't recommend dayshift. Unless you like being in the company of trolls."
"Snyder's a troll? Really? Trolls are real?" Buffy stopped to ponder this; how many demons were there?
"No, I mean yeah, trolls are real but Snyder isn't really one."
"What about leprechauns?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Good, good. Okay...so...sorry, still getting used to this whole demon world thing." Buffy closed her own locker, clutching her jacket and purse in her hands, sitting beside Doyle. "I want to stay close because, well..."
"I get it, princess. I do, really and I'll support you whatever you decide." Doyle stood before offering his hand to the lady to help her stand. Buffy just rolled her eyes and stood up by herself.
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Faith followed the blonde home and stood guard across the street. Since it was daylight now, vamps weren't scouting the house. The next one she saw, she would ask questions first, kill later; opposite of her usual tactic but Giles insisted they get more information.
When she was positive the blonde was safe inside, she ventured back to her hotel, intent on sleeping for days but knowing her slayer senses would have her up by sundown.
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